Warren Buffett donates 2.8 billion dollars in stock to charities
Play
Washington - US star investor Warren Buffett has donated a2.8-billion-dollar chunk of his fortune to charity in the form of shares in his Berkshire Hathaway investment fund.
The 83-year-old gave away 21.7 million shares of class B common stock to several charities, the company said Tuesday. The largest number of shares - 16.5 million - went to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, whose priorities are improving health care and reducing poverty.
The smallest donations - 10 shares each - went to 13 elementary schoolchildren in connection with an educational competition.
Buffett also donated more than 1 million shares to foundations run by his three children and more than 1.6 million shares to his own foundation, which bears the name of his late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett.
Buffett, known for his modest lifestyle relative to his riches, donates a sizable portion of his fortune every year.
As the third-richest person in the world with a personal wealth valued at 65.9 billion dollars, according to Forbes magazine, he can easily afford it.
Since 2010, he and his friend Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates have encouraged other billionaires to donate their riches to good causes.
DPA
